Rosie's Games

Chapter 17: Embers and Ashes

Jeames Sencler wasn't a baron. yet.

Jeames was born a peasant and they had only become closer because his mother used to work in the Lux Mansion. This was before he decided to pursue his dreams of becoming an adventurer. Growing up, Jeames was a happy, pure type of person that had felt so genuine, it would be embarrassing to accuse him of doing anything wrong.

This pure personality was the reason why she started to call him her only friend when she was twelve. Although her feelings would only develop after meeting him again, she always had this dream of marrying someone like him when she was sent away from the Lux Mansion.

While she hasn't heard of anything about him after coming back, she knew from her past life that Jeames followed his dream and became an adventurer. Despite his talent in swordsmanship, he chose to visit some ruins with the hopes of achieving something that would save him and his mother.

The man only became a baron because of some luck. He became a rich entrepreneur by selling artifacts and was given the title of Baron by the King because of an artifact that he found.

Rosalind didn't know how Jeames and Dorothy had become closer. Dorothy was actually the one who pushed her to pursue Jeames in her past life and used him to avoid the marriage with the Duke.

She stared at the artifact. It looked like a black stone.

No one would buy this artifact and Jeames would end up putting it back in his stash, thinking this was useless.

Based on the current timeline, the man must have just gotten back from one of his adventures. Meaning, he had a lot of relics to sell.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

It seemed that there had been a lot of changes since she reincarnated. The timeline in her past life was slower than the current timeline.

And that might be because of her.

"This is real! You don't understand, this is "

"This man is trying to scheme me!" the vendor suddenly said. "Please call the city guards! This man is harassing me! Please "

Jeames didn't let the man finish his words. Embarrassed, he ran away in a huff.

Seeing this, she narrowed her eyes and proceed to walk in the other direction from where Jeames ran away. She only had one goal in mind for this trip. She is going to get the relic that Jeames had.

Soon, she found the bar that she was looking for. Before walking in, she made sure to use the Blessing of the light to create an illusion that would bend the light on her face.

It was similar to wearing a mask, but hers was made by refracting and adjusting the surrounding light.

Confident that no one would recognize her, she walked in and went straight to the counter.

"I want to buy a dark juice with milk and wine," she said. It was a secret code that she learned in her past life. To get into the darkest and most secret part of the town, one needed such a code.

For a few seconds, the bartender looked at her then he nodded. "Go to the back. The juice is there."

She smiled and followed his instructions. Using the kitchen, she accessed the back part of the small bar. When she opened the door, an unassuming, plain looking carriage was already waiting for her.

"Use this to cover your head," an older man handed her a sack. She complied without saying a word. After covering her head with the sack, the old man helped her inside the carriage.

She wasn't exactly surprised when she noticed that there were already people inside.

Soon, the carriage started moving, but it only took a minute before they stopped.

"You can remove the sack now. Come out and pay before you enter."

The four people inside the carriage complied.

All of them were wearing masks, except Rosalind, but not one of them even spared her another glance. They must have known that she was using some sort of mechanism to hide her true appearance. Smiling, she got out of the carriage and paid her dues.

Luckily, the Lux Family was never lacking in sending her gifts and gold to 'compensate' for not visiting her since she arrived. It was a way of saving their faces.

Ten gold coins wasn't a small amount, but one needed to pay to have access to whatever is inside this place. After paying, she followed an attendant to a cubicle. Once she closed the door, the interior of the cubicle immediately changed into that of a door. She knew that the door would lead her to the Embers and Ashes, the largest underground market in the empire.

The scene that welcomed her was almost the same as the scene that she saw in her past life. Slaves being beaten were still dying at the side of the road. Kids, women, and even infants were lining up in chains and in full display to everyone who was there to buy them.

"Good Evening Miss, I am Marcela." A child whose height was able to reach her chest approached her. "I can guide you to the best places in the market for only five silver coins."

Rosalind didn't hesitate. She handed the child ten silver coins.

"This is more than "

"Take me to the quietest place in the market."

The child stared at her as if she wanted to know if Rosalind was jesting. After all, she was in the middle of the black market. How can someone find a place like that? After a while, the child nodded. She clasped the ten silver coins then put them in the pocket of her dress that was two sizes too bigfor her.

"Alright," Marcela said. "Since this Miss is very kind I am going to take you to the quietest place in the market."

Rosalind nodded. However, her eyes were no longer focused on the child. She frowned as she stared at the familiar back of the man walking ahead of her.

Why would that man come here?

Rosalind was certain that she was staring at the back of the red-eyed man. The rude man who held a knife against her throat on their first meeting.

"Miss?"

"Oh Sorry I thought I saw someone. Let's go."

Just as she and the child left, the man that she saw, stopped walking and looked around. His red eyes, which had been changed to blue just for this visit, tried to find the person who had just been staring at him now to no avail.

"Denys what are you doing?" a crisp almost feminine voice interrupted his stupor. He glared at the man wearing a red flamboyant mask.

"Nothing. We should go. The Duke is waiting."